Monday, December 17, 2012

Wow, things have felt rushed around here, I thought with school finishing for the cubs and beginning my Christmas /summer leave that I would have all the time in the world. Turns out that thinking one has all the time in the world just lulls one into a false sense of ability, I thought I had time to garden, knit, cook, shop, parent, organize play dates for the cubs and for me ...and all that takes time, leaving me with less time than I thought. Still there has been knitting,a finished object even, and progress on another knit project, and site actions that come with being home more.

JaiHui's wristers

These were finished a few weeks ago, done in a rush, my favorite wrister pattern, cobbled together from a cable and some ribbing. All blocked and gifted to a postgrad student who had a birthday far for home, and will return to china shortly.

Ribbing around

And the cardigan is more done than not, I picked up a stitch for each row around the front and neck edges, then dropped each fourth stitch thinking the dropped stitch would add a little ease to the picked up edge. I worked 1x1 rib, increasing at the corners every second row to make a neat mitre. I worked the one row improved improved buttonhole from principles of knitting, and like the result. I have buttons, four largish vintage grey ones, hence the wide band. I worked a few centre meters of ribbing at the lower hem first, then picked up and worked ribbing around the entire cardigan.

Sleeves

I finished the band with a two stitch icord bind off, and now I'm working the first sleeve. There would have been more progress but bears brother loaned us a series of detective DVDs, inspector Montalbano, with subtitles which really get in the way of knitting. With the band done i was able to try the cardigan on and I like it, like it a lot. I based the shaping on a commercial cardigan I already have, a Momma Jack by Nom*d, a local New Zealand brand, and its worked out pretty much to plan. I like, but wonder why I am finishing a merino, possum, silk cardigan, which will be warm as toast, as summer approaches.

Beginning to know the materials

And as if I didn't have enough to tempt me, I've got back to drawing, in a very very beginners way, with polychromos oil pencils and developing a knowledge of how the materials layer and blend. Almost to simple to post but I'm learning, this took a little longer than I anticipated, the first five or ten layers just looked pathetic ....wimpy and and lacking any sort of feel I knew what I was doing. But I followed lots of online advice to build up layers slowly and take time ... And sure enough the form and depth of colour started to appear. Just like knitting, a simple act - repeated until one has something that is more than the sum of its parts when done. This was an exercise in using a limited palette, so only five colors, one of them white, and all of them blended and blended and layered and layered. Test patches of colour in the corner hint at what this looked like before the pencils were layered up enough. I might even try a leaf next .....or some piled up fabric. Folds in fabric were my go-to subject when I did art at high school, and wanted to draw, but knew not what. I had a corduroy jacket in mustard that I loved to render in acrylic or graphite again and again. I'd drop it on the table, and just draw the folds as they fell, different each time. I suspect the corduroy wales(lines) helped me see the volume better.

Christmas is coming

Preparations for Christmas are nearly done, the last batch of international post went away last week, missing the post deadline by two days. Tat might mean things are delivered late ... But better late than never eh? Domestic post is nearly done .... And things for cubs have been sorted, a box of 'something' is hiding user my bed, ordered, and shipped early enough to be here in time, another box is hiding out in the garage under the workbench .... That one was bought locally, i like to support local retailers, but the internet brings a huge range into tempting sight. Th local one was bought this morning whilst the elder cub lay-a-bed at home. Quite convienient at times this teenage tendency to sleep all day. And the cubs are working on the tree. We always have a difference of opinion, the cubs want the tree up December first, and I'm more inclined towards the week before Christmas. We have a small lounge and I don't fancy more being crammed into the room early than needs be. Bear I think gets a garden seat if I can work out the mechanics of bringing one home and hiding it without him seeing it.

1 comment:

I truly understand the trap of feeling like you have time! Classes have ended for me and grading is done - where is the time? I did get my packages into the post today - too late for international packages to be in time for Christmas, but at least sent. I really like the wristers, that cable is lovely.

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Me

I knit, there is more, I spin too, make books, and play with ink printing, and I work, and have a family. There are two knitting groups, one spinning group and I love process ...on Ravelry I'm Knitfrogknit. Sometimes I get to teach knitting things. Lately there has been a growing interest in in vintage fountain pens, inks, and old fashioned pencils ... truly I am a geek in these things.

On my book shelf

Fish count : 144 + 13

I'm knitting Knitting Arrows Fish blanket, my version is on show @ Ravelry, here, along with many many others.So I have 144 sewn together and 13 ready to add, making a total of .... 157 small fish.I'm using up the left over yarn sock yarn, and started this in January 2007. It is a slow-food project, aimed at a long term outcome, not a quick weekend knit.